Sara Milne (28) will represent the area in the UK finals of the Mrs Galaxy competition next month.

Two years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis an East Kilbride mum of two has won a prestigious beauty pageant.

Sara Milne (28), from Whitehills, took the Mrs Galaxy Strathclyde title and next month she will represent the area in the UK finals of the Mrs Galaxy competition at a glittering event in Preston.

Diagnosed with MS – which is a disease affecting the central nervous system – on February 13, two years ago, Sara said that, far from letting the illness get her down, it had inspired her to be all she can be.

And she plans to use her beauty pageant win to help raise cash and awareness of the disease for the MS charity which supports sufferers and their families.

Sara said she would also be offering her support to other charities.

She told the News: “I had been unwell for a while before I was diagnosed with MS, indeed I had undergone a couple of years worth of tests at the Southern General Hospital before it was confirmed.

“The first reaction you feel on being told is shock. A lot of people just think ‘wheelchair’ but that is not necessarily the case.

“I decided I wasn’t going to let my illness get me down and that I would just get out there and do things.

“I did my own research, recognised my own constraints and took the steps I thought would be best for me.

“My last MRI scan showed the scarring on my brain had faded so I must be doing something right and I would be more than happy to share what I have learned with others.”

Sara said she has had the support of husband Andy and 10-year-old son Matthew as she strives to cope with her illness. Since she fell ill, she has gone on to have a daughter, Faith, who is now two.

Andy is manager of a South Lanarkshire United Football Club team and last year, on hearing Sara wanted to raise awareness for MS, some team members and Andy took part in a sponsored leg wax carried out by a friend of Sara’s. The event, held in October, raised £600.

Sara hopes it will be the first of many fundraising ventures and details of these will appear on her Facebook page.

She explained: “I’m hoping to use my title to help charities and I am willing to give my support where I can.”

Her family are all rooting for her in the Mrs Galaxy UK competition on Sunday, March 9, and this can be followed live on the Galaxy page.

A monthly support group for MS is held in the Leeburn Restaurant in Nerston. The next meeting is on Thursday, March 6, from 10am-noon.